1. Ancient Greece (1750 B.C.-133 B.C.)
Lesson 1 Early Greece

2. Ancient Greece (1750 B.C.-133 B.C.) Lesson 1 Early Greece
Learning Objectives
Identify the influences on Minoan culture and how the civilization prospered.
Summarize how the Mycenaeans ruled the sea trade and started the Trojan War.
Describe the works of Homer and their influence on Greek culture.

3. Ancient Greece (1750 B.C.-133 B.C.) Lesson 1 Early Greece
Key Terms
Knossos
shrines,
frescoes,
Trojan War,
straits,
Homer,

4. Minoans Prosper From Trade
The island of Crete (kreet) was the cradle of an early civilization that later influenced Greeks living on the European mainland. The people of Crete, however, had absorbed many ideas from the older civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

5. Minoans Prosper From Trade
A Crossroads Location
An Economy Based on Trade
The Palace at Knossos
Minoan Frescoes Show Palace Life
Minoan Civilization Disappears

6. Minoans Prosper From Trade
From the Aegean Sea coastline and islands like Karpathos, shown here, early Greek civilizations traded with Egypt and the Middle East.

7. Mycenaean Civilization
During prehistoric times, groups of peoples speaking related Indo-European languages moved into Europe and Western Asia. Among them were the Myceneaens who moved into southeastern Europe and the Aryans who migrated into India.

8. Mycenaean Civilization
Trade by Sea Brings Wealth
The Trojan War

9. Mycenaean Civilization
This massive Lion Gate, erected about 1250 B.C., is the main entrance to the fortress at Mycenae.

10. Mycenaean Civilization
Since the late 1800s, archaeologists have excavated cities buried beneath a hill in western Turkey thought to be the site of ancient Troy.

11. Homer and the Great Greek Legends
Not long after their victory over Troy the Mycenaeans themselves came under attack from sea raiders and also from another Greek-speaking people, the Dorians, invading from the north. As Mycenaean power faded, their people abandoned the cities and trade declined. People forgot many skills, including the art of writing. From the end of the Mycenaean civilization in about 1100 B.C. until about 800 B.C., Greek civilization seemed to step backward. Over time, the newcomers absorbed stories and traditions from the Mycenaeans into their own heritage. In this way, they built on the legacy of earlier civilizations to forge a new, Greek civilization.

12. Homer and the Great Greek Legends
Two Epic Poems
The Iliad
The Odyssey
Legacy of Homer's Epics
A Legacy for the Future

13. Homer and the Great Greek Legends
Hundreds of years after Homer sang his epic poems, a sculptor carved into marble this idea of the poet’s appearance.

14. Homer and the Great Greek Legends
Analyze Charts A series of Greek civilizations grew, flourished, and fell on the mainland and islands of the eastern Mediterranean. Which civilizations absorbed ideas from Egypt and Mesopotamia? How did they learn about these ideas?

15. Quiz: Minoans Prosper From Trade
Art at Knossos reflects Minoan culture by
A. portraying the courage of men at war.
B. presenting women only in their homes.
C. illustrating the importance of the sea.
D. depicting mountains as places of awe.

16. Quiz: Mycenaean Civilization
How did trade shape Mycenaean society?
A. It slowed economic growth and curbed population expansion.
B. It brought contact with the ideas and skills of other cultures.
C. It encouraged the development of new political movements.
D. It limited knowledge of the ideas and beliefs of other cultures.

17. Quiz: Homer and the Great Greek Legends
What do Homer’s epics reveal about Greek culture?
A. the values of the ancient Greeks
B. the origins of major Greek cities
C. the beliefs of the ancient Dorians
D. the activities of Greek sea traders